1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved package for foodstuffs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a package having a cup with a beveled sealing flange.
2. Description of Related Art
A wide variety of hermetically sealed packages suitable for containing foodstuffs are known. One conventional package widely used for containing foodstuffs includes a plastic cup having a removable film seal. In particular, the plastic cup includes a sealing flange to which the removable film seal is attached.
Preferably, the cup and the film seal of the conventional package are adapted to allow a consumer to open the package, that is, remove the film seal from the cup with minimal effort to gain access to the foodstuffs contained within the package. The film seal can be engineered to provide a reduced peel level or predetermined amount of force required to remove the film seal from the cup. However, reducing the peel level disadvantageously affects other critical functional requirements of the package. For example, reducing the peel level proportionately increases the possibility of the package bursting and/or leaking. Re-engineering the film seal is insufficient to effect a significant reduction in the opening force of the package because conventional sealing equipment has a wide variation of operating parameters, including temperature, seal time, pressure and other factors, which must be considered when designing the package. In addition to the sealing equipment, a thermo-processing environment (retort) must be compatible with the materials of the package.
Conventional packing and sealing equipment is generally standardized to accommodate cups having a one-quarter inch sealing flange. Disadvantageously, the use of a one-quarter inch sealing flange provides a rather large contact area between the film seal and the cup thus requiring a considerable amount of force on the part of a consumer to remove the film seal from the cup. Although use of a narrow flange has been contemplated, it has been determined that narrow flanges are not compatible with current tooling. In particular, due to the inherent play found in conventional sealing equipment, use of a smaller, for example, a one-eighth inch sealing flange is insufficient to properly seal the film seal to the cup. Although, such configuration may reduce the amount of force necessary to remove the film seal from the cup, such configuration is insufficient to overcome pressures exerted upon the packages during retorting, shipping and distribution which may disadvantageously blow the film seal off the cup, or otherwise result in a leaking seal.
What is needed is a new and improved package for foodstuffs which overcomes the above and other disadvantages of known packages.
In summary, one aspect of the present invention is directed to a package for foodstuffs. The package generally includes a cup and a lid. The cup includes an opening surrounded by a flange. The flange has a sealing surface adjacent the opening and a beveled surface spaced outwardly of the sealing surface. The beveled surface extends along a periphery of the flange. The sealing surface has an inner radius R1 and an outer radius R2, the outer radius R2 which defines the juncture between the sealing surface and the beveled surface. The beveled surface extends at a predetermined angle with respect to the sealing surface. The lid includes a tab extending outward of the periphery of the flange. The lid is affixed to the sealing surface thereby sealing the opening of the cup. The lid is not affixed to a substantial portion of the beveled surface.
The lid and the sealing surface are adapted to release upon exertion of a predetermined pulling force on the tab. The predetermined pulling force is less than approximately 8 pounds and is preferably approximately 3 to 5 pounds.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved package suitable for containing foodstuffs and other substances.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a package including a lid and a cup having a reduced contact area while maintaining the overall dimensions of the cup.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a packaging adapted for reducing the amount of force on the part of a consumer and/or user required to remove the lid from the cup while maintaining the structural integrity of the package.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.